dynamo lighting

On 2006-03-10, Travis (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

As another person in this thread noted, LED torches are much more
energy efficient than incandescent torches, so the batteries last a lot
longer.

They're not a lot more efficient -- 2 times at most. What they are is
a lot less power (unless you're paying for a luxeon). Most worthwhile
incandescent bulbs are at least 2.4W, whereas people seem perfectly
content with 0.2W LEDs which barely light up a dark low speed path.

--
TimC
Five is a sufficiently close approximation to infinity.
-- Robert Firth

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 01:32:58 GMT

TimC said:

They're not a lot more efficient -- 2 times at most. What they are is
a lot less power (unless you're paying for a luxeon). Most worthwhile
incandescent bulbs are at least 2.4W, whereas people seem perfectly
content with 0.2W LEDs which barely light up a dark low speed path.

Picked up some cute little driving lights from SuperCheap today. 55w
halogen 12v, but Jaycar have 3w and 10w bulbs that will fit.

Anyone got any idea where I can get 6v halogen bulbs? Not MR16
lights, but bulbs, similar to Jaycar SL2722 but 6v?

12v seems like I'd have to carry too much battery around.

Zebee

TimC said:

On 2006-03-10, Travis (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

As another person in this thread noted, LED torches are much more
energy efficient than incandescent torches, so the batteries last a lot
longer.

They're not a lot more efficient -- 2 times at most. What they are is
a lot less power (unless you're paying for a luxeon). Most worthwhile
incandescent bulbs are at least 2.4W, whereas people seem perfectly
content with 0.2W LEDs which barely light up a dark low speed path.

Tim,

When comparing lights of different types, don't confuse Wattage with
light output. Wattage is a measure of power input, not light output.
For example an 8W fluro puts out a similar amout of light to a 60W
incandecent (tungsten fillament). Halogen bulbs put out more light per
watt than tungsten bulbs.

That said I am not sure how LEDs compare with tungesten or halogen for
light output.

Ted.
==============================================================
| Ted Linnell <[email hidden]> |
| |
| Nunawading, Victoria , Australia |
==============================================================

On 2006-03-11, Ted Linnell (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

TimC said:

On 2006-03-10, Travis (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

As another person in this thread noted, LED torches are much more
energy efficient than incandescent torches, so the batteries last a lot
longer.

They're not a lot more efficient -- 2 times at most.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What they are is
a lot less power (unless you're paying for a luxeon). Most worthwhile
incandescent bulbs are at least 2.4W, whereas people seem perfectly
content with 0.2W LEDs which barely light up a dark low speed path.

Tim,

When comparing lights of different types, don't confuse Wattage with
light output. Wattage is a measure of power input, not light output.
For example an 8W fluro puts out a similar amout of light to a 60W
incandecent (tungsten fillament). Halogen bulbs put out more light per
watt than tungsten bulbs.

That said I am not sure how LEDs compare with tungesten or halogen for
light output.

A factor of two or so for halogen, tungsten is a bit crapper though.
Not that much. Tis what I am saying. In fact, I'm not even sure of
that. I am not convinced that a 5W luxeon (LED) is any brighter than
a 5W halogen. I reckon they are *fainter*!

I'd love to put flourescent lights on my bike, but as Zebee mentioned
once, you'd need big optics. The next step in efficiency is of course
the HID. Want!

--
TimC
The triangle wheel was an improvement upon the square wheel:
It eliminates one bump. -- unknown

Zebee Johnstone said:

Anyone got any idea where I can get 6v halogen bulbs? Not MR16 lights,
but bulbs, similar to Jaycar SL2722 but 6v?

Rare as hen's teeth, and generally expensive, depending on exactly what
you're after. Stick with 12V. P=VI remember? So you halve your current for
a given power with 12V instead of 6, and 12V stuff is a lot easier to get
hold of.

The only problem is that a lot of "12V" stuff is actually automotive, and
should say 13.2V. They work off 12V, but are a little dull compared to
runing off 13.2.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
Love wouldn't be blind if the braille wasn't so damned much fun.
- Armistead Maupin

On 2006-03-11, Random Data (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

The only problem is that a lot of "12V" stuff is actually automotive, and
should say 13.2V. They work off 12V, but are a little dull compared to
runing off 13.2.

Do you mean 13.8, or is 13.8 the charging voltage, and 13.2 the
nominal battery voltage when not being charged?

--
TimC
I hereby declare that from now on, the singular of "people" is "peopum".
-- Kibo

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 13:44:18 +1100

Random Data said:

Zebee Johnstone said:

Anyone got any idea where I can get 6v halogen bulbs? Not MR16 lights,
but bulbs, similar to Jaycar SL2722 but 6v?

Rare as hen's teeth, and generally expensive, depending on exactly what
you're after. Stick with 12V. P=VI remember? So you halve your current for
a given power with 12V instead of 6, and 12V stuff is a lot easier to get
hold of.

So what would be a good 12v to get? I suppose I just get a smallish
12v SLA and wing it?

Zebee

http://www.reflectalite.com/halogenpage.html

--
Bob C
"Zebee Johnstone" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 13:44:18 +1100

Random Data said:

Zebee Johnstone said:

Anyone got any idea where I can get 6v halogen bulbs? Not MR16 lights,
but bulbs, similar to Jaycar SL2722 but 6v?

Rare as hen's teeth, and generally expensive, depending on exactly what
you're after. Stick with 12V. P=VI remember? So you halve your current
for
a given power with 12V instead of 6, and 12V stuff is a lot easier to get
hold of.

So what would be a good 12v to get? I suppose I just get a smallish
12v SLA and wing it?

Zebee

TimC said:

A factor of two or so for halogen, tungsten is a bit crapper though. Not
that much. Tis what I am saying. In fact, I'm not even sure of that. I
am not convinced that a 5W luxeon (LED) is any brighter than a 5W halogen.
I reckon they are *fainter*!

That's odd. My 5W Luxeon seems brighter in close, but doesn't throw as far
as my 10W halogen. That's a home brew halogen, so not quite as bright as a
Vista, etc. Of course, now I just use HID. MWuhahahahaha!

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
O Canada, we stand ready to sit down and discuss our problems in a
civilized fashion for thee. -- wednesday

Zebee Johnstone said:

So what would be a good 12v to get? I suppose I just get a smallish 12v
SLA and wing it?

12V 10W is fairly easy to get, but 20W is easier. 5W seems very dull. If
you hunt around you should be able to get a 10W MR11 with about a 12
degree spread.

As far as batteries go if you've got something around 7Ah from the moto it
should be OK. www.oatleyelectronics.com have good prices for those, and
TLE are reasonable as well. Jaycar and DSE are a bit pricey.

If you're only doing sub hour stuff you should be able to get away with a
4Ah SLA. It may be worth considering NiMH cells if you've already got a
charger.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"The problem with people whose minds are in the gutter is that they keep
blocking my periscope."

TimC said:

Do you mean 13.8, or is 13.8 the charging voltage, and 13.2 the nominal
battery voltage when not being charged?

I think I do actually, but 13.2 is what you get when you chuck an extra
NiMH cell at it!

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *can*
you believe?!" - Bullwinkle J. Moose

Zebee Johnstone said:

I've got the non-quick-release wheels and seat, any lights will have
to be capable of being left on the bike so it takes a determined thief
with tools to rip the bits off. It won't be left all day like that,
but I'm damned if it will take longer to park it than the errand
takes!

The light referred to takes 1 second to take off and about three seconds
to put on. Four second errand? Oh add two seconds for the rear flasher.

Easiest way to make sure your lights are safe is to take them with you.
Given that lights are essential to night time survival I'll happily
pay ten seconds each time I leave my bike locked up at night. YMMV.
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 20:14:53 +1100

Random Data said:

12V 10W is fairly easy to get, but 20W is easier. 5W seems very dull. If
you hunt around you should be able to get a 10W MR11 with about a 12
degree spread.

Right now I have 2 little driving light housings using 2 pin bulbs.
The ones in it are 55W, Jaycar has 10W ones.

Quoted message said:

As far as batteries go if you've got something around 7Ah from the moto it
should be OK. www.oatleyelectronics.com have good prices for those, and
TLE are reasonable as well. Jaycar and DSE are a bit pricey.

Ouch! 2.6kg! OK, I am not into saving grams, but that's a whole
different thing...

Quoted message said:

If you're only doing sub hour stuff you should be able to get away with a
4Ah SLA. It may be worth considering NiMH cells if you've already got a
charger.

I expect to be doing 60-90 mins. Possibly not with both lights all
the time, but at least one.

Take a fair few NiMH wouldn't it?

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone said:

I expect to be doing 60-90 mins. Possibly not with both lights all
the time, but at least one.

Take a fair few NiMH wouldn't it?

Where its well lit you just need to be seen, flashing leds do that well.
A convenient on/off switch for your seeing light stretches the batteries.

Which is the weakness of a HID, turning it back on hot hurts the expensive bulb.

Andre

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I expect to be doing 60-90 mins. Possibly not with both lights all
the time, but at least one.

Take a fair few NiMH wouldn't it?

Zebee

Damn! Its not time to get the lights out already is it? Dark days of
winter loom.

I did a fair bit of messing around with lights last year after being
less than happy with the little LED lights I was packing. This site was
rather useful: http://bicyclelighting.com/ and source of a fair amount
of good advice.

Or from someone a little closer to home, have a read of the Fat Hippie's
pages at http://members.iinet.net.au/~fathers/lightstoc.htm

Anyway, I ended up with 2 * 20watt halogens (one spot and one flood) and
a 12 volt alarm strobe for a tail light. All three have a separate
on/off switch. I have a 30 minute commute each way which hardly seemed
to stress the 7aH SLA at all. Might try a smaller one this year in a
pathetic attempt to reduce weight.

There are some pictures of my setup on a blog I abandoned some time
ago.. If you can stand being redirected to a crappy "spaces" blog, have
a look at the happy snaps here: http://tinyurl.com/z93oz

--
Flaps

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:28:33 +1100

Aeek said:

Zebee Johnstone said:

I expect to be doing 60-90 mins. Possibly not with both lights all
the time, but at least one.

Take a fair few NiMH wouldn't it?

Where its well lit you just need to be seen, flashing leds do that well.
A convenient on/off switch for your seeing light stretches the batteries.

At the rear yes, the flashing front ones don't seem to be as good,
I'm not sure why. Speaking as a motor vehicle pilot.

Zebee

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:45:54 +1100

flaps said:

Anyway, I ended up with 2 * 20watt halogens (one spot and one flood) and
a 12 volt alarm strobe for a tail light. All three have a separate
on/off switch. I have a 30 minute commute each way which hardly seemed
to stress the 7aH SLA at all. Might try a smaller one this year in a
pathetic attempt to reduce weight.

6 or 12v halogens?

Zebee

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:45:54 +1100

flaps said:

Anyway, I ended up with 2 * 20watt halogens (one spot and one flood) and
a 12 volt alarm strobe for a tail light. All three have a separate
on/off switch. I have a 30 minute commute each way which hardly seemed
to stress the 7aH SLA at all. Might try a smaller one this year in a
pathetic attempt to reduce weight.

6 or 12v halogens?

Zebee

12v. Nice and bright. I've been mistaken for a motorcycle more than
once by cars coming the other way on suburban streets and giving way to
me which is nice. I went with 12v mainly because of cost. I already had
a 12v charger so all I needed to buy was the battery (about $20) and the
globes. The rest was just out of the junk box.

--
Flaps

TimC said:

On 2006-03-11, Ted Linnell (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

TimC said:

On 2006-03-10, Travis (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

>As another person in this thread noted, LED torches are much more
>energy efficient than incandescent torches, so the batteries last a lot
>longer.

They're not a lot more efficient -- 2 times at most.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What they are is
a lot less power (unless you're paying for a luxeon). Most worthwhile
incandescent bulbs are at least 2.4W, whereas people seem perfectly
content with 0.2W LEDs which barely light up a dark low speed path.

Tim,

When comparing lights of different types, don't confuse Wattage with
light output. Wattage is a measure of power input, not light output.
For example an 8W fluro puts out a similar amout of light to a 60W
incandecent (tungsten fillament). Halogen bulbs put out more light per
watt than tungsten bulbs.

That said I am not sure how LEDs compare with tungesten or halogen for
light output.

A factor of two or so for halogen, tungsten is a bit crapper though.
Not that much. Tis what I am saying. In fact, I'm not even sure of
that. I am not convinced that a 5W luxeon (LED) is any brighter than
a 5W halogen. I reckon they are *fainter*!

You've got to be joking!
I've used both and a 5 watt Luxeon is at least the equivalent of a 10
watt halogen. I have a box of unused halogens because the Luxeons are
just so much better.

Quoted message said:

I'd love to put flourescent lights on my bike, but as Zebee mentioned
once, you'd need big optics. The next step in efficiency is of course
the HID. Want!

Friday said:

I've used both and a 5 watt Luxeon is at least the equivalent of a 10
watt halogen. I have a box of unused halogens because the Luxeons are
just so much better.

and of a 3W Luxeon SuzyJ writes

Quoted message said:

In use, it's about as bright as my old 5W halogen, with a similar beam shape, but uses half the power.

http://www.littlefishbicycles.com/bikelight/index.html

Andre